‘Proud to be Irish’ Themed Ad Break
Summary of Research Findings
Themed Ad Breaks: Why did we introduce them?
2
Following on from our i Conference in September last year, RTÉ Television Sales established
a number of initiatives in the first quarter of 2009 aimed at offering advertisers ‘stand-out’
opportunities for their commercials
One such initiative was the introduction of Themed Ad Breaks:
- The breaks were distinguished by 2 short video clips created by RTÉ, the first of which introduced the theme
at the start of the break and prompted the viewer to ‘keep watching the ad break’, with the second clip concluding
the break by thanking viewers for watching it
- The theme of the ad breaks in question were directly linked to the programme content in which they were aired,
thereby enabling advertisers to directly target audiences who had shown an interest in the particular theme by
choosing to watch the specific programme
- The idea behind the themed ad breaks was that the programme viewers would be more interested and attentive
towards the brands featured in the themed ad breaks because the products were specifically related to the
programme content, and therefore directly relevant to them
Themed Ad Breaks: What we’ve done so far…
The first themed ad break aired in Operation Transformation on Thursday, 19th February
and our video clip at the start featured the tagline ‘This is good for you! Keep watching
the Ad Break’. All the brands that featured in the break promoted a healthy lifestyle:
The brands included Kellogg’s Bran Flakes, Alpro Soya Milk, Danone Activia, Kerry Low Low, Centrum Core,
Nicorette & Yoplait Mixed Seeds
The most recent ‘themed ad break’ offered brands with a strong Irish association the
opportunity to advertise in a ‘Proud To Be Irish’ themed ad break. It featured the tagline
‘What’s more Irish than 40 shades of green? Keep watching and find out!’. It aired in the
All-Ireland Talent Show Results Programme on RTÉ One on Sunday 15th March at 8.41pm
and again during the live coverage of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Tuesday 17th March
at 1.22pm
The brands included Aer Lingus, Meteor, Chef, Johnston Mooney & O’Brien, National Lottery Monday Million
and Fáilte Ireland
Link to watch video clips: http://tvsales.rte.ie/advertising/breakinnovation.htm
Themed Ad Breaks:
The Research Study
We commissioned a research study on the ‘Proud to be Irish’ ad break with i-Reach in
order to:
Gauge consumer awareness levels of the ‘Proud to be Irish’ break
Establish the perceived effectiveness of the themed ad break among those who saw it on RTÉ One and
among those who didn’t see it on air, but could still offer an opinion on it having seen the video footage
Identify whether consumers understood the message being communicated by this particular themed break
Ascertain the impact of the themed ad break on brand perception
Determine general reactions & thoughts regarding themed ad breaks on Television
Themed Ad Breaks:
Research Methodology
- Conducted by iReach
- Monthly Omnibus Consumer Survey
- Nationally representative sample of 1,000 Irish consumers
- Interviewing conducted online
- Fieldwork took place between Friday 20th and Monday 23rd March 2009
- Respondents were shown a video clip, which showed the RTÉ ‘Proud to be Irish’ break
idents and all the advertising spots that aired within the ad break
Respondent Profile
Age
Gender
Female
55+
9%
45-54
17%
53%
35-44
25-34
Region
Ulster/
Connacht
14%
Rest of
Leinster
20%
Munster
23%
26%
29%
47%
43%
Male
Dublin
<24
19%
Recall of Themed Ad Break
Q. Did you see this ad break on RTÉ Television? It aired on RTÉ One in the final of the All Ireland Talent Show
on Sunday 12th March at around 8.45pm and again in the live coverage of the St. Patrick’s Day parade
yesterday around 1.20pm
33%
31%
30%
29%
28%
27%
Adults
Men
Women
18-24
25-34
35-44
The Proud to be Irish themed ad break gained high awareness despite only being aired twice… just under a
third of Adults who completed the online survey said they seen it on RTÉ One
Recall was higher among Women compared to Men
Perceived Uniqueness of Ad Break
Base: Respondents who saw themed Ad Break on RTÉ One:
Q: Did you notice that this particular ad-break was different to other
ad breaks on Television?
Uniqueness of the RTÉ Ad
Yes, this ad was different to other
TV ads
31%
Aware of Ad
prior to survey
40%
Aware
Base: Those unaware of the RTÉ Ad but watched video online (69%):
Q: Do you think this particular ad-break looks different to other
Television ad breaks?
Uniqueness of the RTÉ Ad
Yes, this ad was different to other
TV ads
Unaware of the Ad
prior to survey
43%
The perception of the ad break was very similar across all respondent groups with approximately 4-out-of-10
saying they thought it was different to other TV ad breaks
Unique Elements: Spontaneous Responses
Q: What did / do you think was / is different about this ad-break compared to other TV ad breaks?
It was continuous
It was Irish
themed
It was continuous
Promotes Ireland
in a very positive
way
It shows
that people
are proud to
be Irish
The announcement
at the beginning
drew my attention to
it – all Irish products
advertised
Irish - and
particularly poignant
on St. Patrick’s Day
The Irish theme
to it is apparent
Very focused group of ads.
Nice amount of humour
Stronger
Imagery
underlining the
selling message
It was all Irish based
products and services
This particular ad break was all Ireland
products / services. I noticed this when
the dancing girl came on after and
thought ‘Oh yeah…, very good’
Source: i-Reach / Spontaneous Responses
Unique Elements: Spontaneous Responses
Q: What did / do you think was / is different about this ad-break compared to other TV ad breaks?
It’s different and
appears seamless
The thank you
for watching
the ads bit at
the end
It was quite obviously
all Irish companies,
which was great!
It was continuous
Thematic
Consistency
The ads are themed
and contained within two
parts of the same ad. I have
not seen it done exactly like
this before
It’s interesting…
like telling a story
The focus on Ireland
and the grouping of
ads together with a
theme
It’s very personalised. It’s very
Irish. You wouldn’t see ad breaks
like that in a different country. And
this makes it interesting & enjoyable
All of the ads were Irish. I
think it was used as part
of Seachtain na Gaeilge,
I remember thinking it
was a very clever idea at
the time
Every company featured seems to be
Irish as far as I know, and it was
mentioned Proud to be Irish, plus it was
nicely done with an Intro and Outro
Source: i-Reach / All Respondents / Spontaneous Responses
Impact on Brand Perception
It was continuous
50%
44%
Less Positive
51%
No Different
49%
55%
47%
More Positive
Adults
Saw Ad Break on RTÉ
One
☺
Previously unaware of
Ad Break on RTÉ One
Half of all respondents said they would feel more positive towards the advertised brands because they
featured in a Proud to be Irish themed ad break. Positive reaction to the featured brands was higher among
those who saw the ad break live on RTÉ One with 55% agreeing they felt more positive towards them
Source: i-Reach / All Respondents / Prompted Responses
Attitudes towards Themed Ad Break
Base: All Respondents
Agree
Themed ad breaks featuring brands relating to the
particular theme are a good idea and can help to make the
TV advertising campaign more effective
The short video, which featured the tagline 'What's more
Irish than 40 shades of green?" with the prompt "Keep
watching and find out" at the start of the break would
make me more likely to watch the ad break
The short video at the start of the ad break would make
me pay more attention to the ads featured in the break
Neither Agree or
Disagree
20% 11%
69%
56%
50%
Disagree
26%
28%
18%
22%
Source: i-Reach / All Respondents / Prompted Responses
Attitudes towards Themed Ad Break
Base: Respondents who saw themed Ad Break on RTÉ One
Agree
Themed ad breaks featuring brands relating to the
particular theme are a good idea and can help to make the
TV advertising campaign more effective
The short video, which featured the tagline 'What's more
Irish than 40 shades of green?" with the prompt "Keep
watching and find out" at the start of the break made me
more likely to watch the ad break
The short video at the start of the ad break made me pay
more attention to the ads featured in the break
Neither Agree or
Disagree
71%
61%
58%
Disagree
18% 11%
24%
26%
15%
16%
Respondents who said they had actually seen the themed ad-break on RTÉ One were even more positive
towards the themed ad breaks than Adults in general. Almost three quarters of them said they thought they were
a good idea and can help to make a TV ad campaign more effective
Summary
- Awareness of the themed ad break was high with just under a third of respondents saying
they saw it on RTÉ One
- Approximately 4-out-of-10 believed the Proud to be Irish themed ad break was different
to other TV ad breaks they’d seen
- Spontaneous responses to what made the ad break unique were very positive, with most
mentioning the ‘Irish’ elements and the continuous flow of the break
- Just over half of those who saw the ad break on RTÉ Television said they would feel more
positive towards the advertised brands as a result of their association with the Proud to be
Irish ad break
- Attitudes towards themed ad breaks were very positive, particularly among those who saw
the actual ad break on RTÉ One
We are planning further themed ad-breaks in the coming months… details will be posted
on our website:
http://tvsales.rte.ie/advertising/breakinnovation.htm
By following the link above, you can also watch the video clips of our themed ad breaks